Criminal Investigation Methods According to Hans Gross: Past and Present

Abstract

The primary concerns of this paper are to determine the role of the methods proposed by H. Gross during the formation and development of criminalistics and to prove their relevance today. To fulfil this goal, methods of scientific cognition have been applied: observation, comparison, abstraction, analysis, synthesis, modeling, etc. The contribution made by H. Gross to establishing criminalistics as a science has been demonstrated. Emphasis is placed on two methods he proposed for investigating crimes: setting a moment of firm conviction about case circumstances (the investigator’s impartial attitude to the information received at the beginning of an investigation) and graphic tables (visualization of relevant forensic information). From these methods, the following conclusions have been drawn: crime investigation involves the use of specific actions and techniques; the investigator must approach the information received during the investigation impartially; at the beginning of alleged crime investigation, one should not rush to conclusions; they should be developed as the truth is clarified; the investigator may involve other experts (well-versed assistants); the basis of crime investigation methods is the step-by-step execution of the algorithm of actions. After implementing each subsequent stage (step), the investigator should summarize received results (preferably in written, tabular [visual] form). It has been argued that the methods proposed by H. Gross are still relevant today due to the prospects of developing a modern applied scientific area (forensic technologies ensuring visualization in a criminal proceeding) and certain issues of unbiased analysis of relevant forensic information by investigators at the initial stage of investigating crimes.